Duterte visits Marawi City amid ongoing fighting

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte visited Marawi City on Thursday to check on troops at the frontlines of the government’s battle against Islamic State-inspired Maute terrorists.

This was confirmed by Malacañang, but provided no details of the President’s trip.

Duterte has said he had been visiting military camps in recent weeks to make sure that the morale of government troops was high.

He was supposed to visit Marawi in early July, but the trip was canceled. The official reason given for the cancellation was bad weather.

Thousands of Maranaos remain displaced after Islamic State-linked Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups laid siege on Marawi City in a bid to establish a wilaya (province) for IS fighters in the southern Philippines.

As of July 19, the government has reported the deaths of 45 civilians, 421 Islamist militants, and 99 government forces amid the continuing armed conflict in Marawi City.